- Yes, as tech tree vehicle
- Yes, as a premium vehicle
- No, not at all
The Fairey Fulmar was a British carrier fighter, night-time interceptor and reconnaissance aircraft developed by Fairey Aviation and used by the Royal Navy’s Fleet Air Arm (FAA).
Spoiler
Development
Inspired by the earlier Fairey Battle, the Fulmar was first concieved as a long-range fighter/reconnaissance aircraft not for the Royal Navy, but for the Army. However, the Army would not retain Fairey’s design, of which two prototypes had been already produced. Although it had failed to attract the good graces of the Army, the Royal Navy would quickly manifest an interest in the design, looking for a long-range replacement to their aging fleet of Blackburn Skua carrier-borne fighters.
The Fulmar was, as stated, designed around the concepts of long range and heavy offensive armament, sacrificing maneuverability and speed, as the plane was not foreseen to encounter much opposition as Britain’s main rival at the time, Germany, did not possess a carrier force that could challenge the Fleet Air Arm. On January 4th 1940, the first production model of the Fulmar, the Mk.I, took off from Fairey’s facilities in Manchester.
First equipped with a Rolls-Royce Merlin III engine, this particular power-plant was found inadequate, as the prototype could only achieve a maximum speed of 230 mph (370 km/h). In response, a new engine, the Merlin VIII, unique to the Fulmar, would be adopted for the production model. Thanks to this change, as well as a few aerodynamics tweaks, the maximum speed of the production Mk.I would reach 265 mph (426 km/h) when flown at an altitude of 7500 ft (2286m). As for armament, the Mk.I Fulmar was equipped with 8 .303 Browning Mk.II
Later, in early 1941, Fairey launched the production of the Fulmar Mk.II. This version came equipped with an improved engine, the Rolls-Royce Merlin XXX, and modifications of the airframe leading to a reduction of the weight of the aircraft by 350lb compared to the Mk.I. The MK.II would also be able to carry a 60-gallon center-line drop tank or either a 250lb or 500lb bomb instead of the drop tank. While originally planned to carry the same offensive armament as the Mk.I, a late batch of the Mk.II would come equipped with 4 0.5in Browning AN/M2, giving it a stronger punch compared to its predecessor.
Interestingly for a carrier fighter, the Fairey Fulmar had the characteristic of being a two-seater aircraft. Indeed, due to the nature of the long-range and time-extensive reconnaissance missions the Fulmar would be called to accomplished, the Royal Navy specified the need for a second crewmember, acting as both a navigator and radio operator. Although the Fulmar would be a two seater, it would not be equipped with any sort of defensive armament.
A Fulmar of 807 Squadron, HMS Ark Royal, April 1941.
Service History
The Fairey Fulmar would enter service in July 1940, with the first aircrafts being delivered to No. 806 squadron, attached to fleet carrier HMS Illustrious. In September of that same year, the Fulmar would first saw action in the Mediterranean Sea, participating in convoy protection duties. When air reinforcements were dispatched to the besieged island of Malta, the Fulmar would guide the carrier-borne RAF Hurricanes and Spitfires to the island’s airbase. In that time, the Fulmars of the Fleet Air Arm would prove effective against Italian land-based bombers, claiming dozens of kills by October.
During the Battle of Cape Matapan, Fulmars launched from HMS Victorious would be seen strafing the deck of Italian battleship Vittorio Veneto, thus protecting the incoming Swordfish and Albacore torpedo bombers from incoming anti-air fire.
In the Taranto raid, the long-range capabilities of the Fulmar would prove useful in escorting the diverse flights of Fairey Swordfish bombers bound for the Italian naval base.
Fulmars would also play an important part in protecting arctic convoys bound to the Soviet Union from Condor attacks. In the same theater, they would play a key role in Operation EF, the failed raid of Axis-held Kirkenes and Petsamo.
In 1941, the FAA’s Fulmars would play a role in the search of famous German battleship Bismarck, acting as spotters to track the battleship and even aiding in the following attacks.
Finally, the Fulmar would see heavy action on the Pacific theater. In 1942, two squadrons of Fulmars were dispatched for the defense of Ceylon. There, although suffering high casualties due to being largely outclassed by the Japanese A6M Zero, British Fulmars would still claim the destructions of several Japanese dive bombers and torpedo bombers.
The Fulmars would also shortly see service on catapult-armed merchants, or CAM ships, as its long-range capabilities well suited the role. It would however be eventually pushed away from that role by the smaller and more effective Martlet.
The last operation to see the use of carrier-borne Fulmars in a fighter role would be Operation Pedestal. During this operation, it would, along with Hawker Hurricanes, ensure the protection of the vital relief convoys bound for the island of Malta.
By the end of 1942, the Fulmar would start being gradually replaced in its carrier fighter role. Planes such as the Hawker Sea Hurricane, the Supermarine Seafire and the American-made Grumman Martlet (known as the F4F Wildcat in America) were rushed into service to replace the aging Fulmars.
Although the type would effectively be phased out as a fighter, it continued to operate as a long-range reconnaissance aircraft all the way to 1945. A handful of Mk.II Fulmars would also be modified as night fighters and outfitted with a radar. These particular airplanes would continue to fulfil this role until the end of the war. Other Fulmars would act as training planes, especially for future Fairey Barracuda pilots.
The last remaining Fairey Fulmar, N1854, at the Fleet Air Arm Museum in Yeovilton.
According to records, the Fairey Fulmar was well appreciated by it’s pilots, whom found the aircraft easy to handle both in the air and on deck. Few FAA pilots even achieved ace status piloting Fulmars, most notably Sub-Lieutenant Stanley Orr, who ended the war with 12 confirmed kills, a handful of them scored piloting Fulmars.
Despite the end of its production with the Mk.II variant, the success of the Fulmar encouraged Fairey engineers to continue development based on the Fulmar design. These developments would eventually culminate in the Fairey Firefly, the successor of the Fulmar, towards the end of the conflict.
General characteristics:
- Crew: 2
- Length: 40 ft 2 in (12.24 m)
- Wingspan: 46 ft 4.25 in (14.1288 m)
- Height: 14 ft 0 in (4.27 m)
- Wing area: 342 sq ft (31.8 m2)
- Empty weight: 7,015 lb (3,182 kg)
- Gross weight: 9,672 lb (4,387 kg)
- Max takeoff weight: 10,200 lb (4,627 kg)
- Powerplant: 1 × Rolls-Royce Merlin XXX, 1,300 hp (970 kW)
- Propellers: 3-bladed Rotol constant-speed propeller
Performance:
- Maximum speed: 272 mph (438 km/h, 236 kn) at 7,250 ft (2,210 m)
- Cruise speed: 235 mph (378 km/h, 204 kn)
- Range: 780 mi (1,260 km, 680 nmi)
- Service ceiling: 27,200 ft (8,300 m)
- Rate of climb: 1,250 ft/min (6.1 m/s)
- Wing loading: 28 lb/sq ft (140 kg/m2)
Armament:
- Offensive: 4 × 0.50 in (12.7 mm) Browning machine gun wing-mounted.
- Bomb load: 2 × 100 lb (45 kg) or 250 lb (110 kg) bomb
Airplane main color:
- Two-tone Artichoke-ish green and Munsell blue camouflage, with red-white-blue-yellow RAF cocarde behind the wing, below the gondola;
- Red and blue cocarde on each wing (not under the wings)
- White bottom
- Red-white-blue tailmark
Thanks to Rex’s Hangar for much of the information and instilling this passion for this plane in me, here’s his excellent deep-dive video on the Fulmar: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=biKR8gKQG_E
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